Man held in Slidell bank robbery also suspected of recent Chase Bank robbery in Houma

Tuesday

Nov 5, 2013 at 6:40 PMNov 5, 2013 at 8:11 PM

A Mississippi man suspected of robbing a Houma bank Thursday was arrested after the Monday afternoon robbery of a Slidell bank, police said.

Mike HillCity Editor

A Mississippi man suspected of robbing a Houma bank Thursday was arrested after the Monday afternoon robbery of a Slidell bank, police said.Walter Fairley, 35, is facing charges of armed robbery and being felon in possession of a firearm.About 2:30 p.m. Monday, Slidell Police said they responded to a report of a bank robbery at a Regions Bank in Slidell.A man entered the bank, provided a note indicating he had a gun and demanded cash, police said.Police said a witness told them Fairley jumped into a black pickup truck with a Mississippi license plate that fled on Interstate 10. Officers stopped the truck, arrested Fairley and recovered a loaded .22 caliber pistol stuffed in his waistband.Through the course of the investigation that involved the FBI, police said they linked Fairley to the Houma robbery.On Thursday, a masked man entered Chase Bank at 573 Grand Caillou Road in Houma about 2:30 p.m. and demanded cash from a bank teller, Houma Police Chief Todd Duplantis said. The man, who didn't show a weapon, took an unknown amount of money and fled in a black, full-size single cab truck with tinted windows. No one was hurt.As of Tuesday night, Fairley was being held in the Slidell City Jail but will later be transported to the St. Tammany Parish Jail, police said.The motive of the robbery is believed to be an ongoing gambling addiction.The Houma Police Department was expected to obtain arrest warrants for Fairley by Wednesday morning.